On Friday, approximately 200 Palestinians from villages in the West Bank erected about 20 large, steel-framed tents on the disputed land, in order to prevent Israel from building thousands of new housing units in the area.

The Palestinians claim the E1 plans would sound the death knell to a two-state solution by breaking up the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state.

According to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, the police on Saturday morning delivered the evacuation orders, which allegedly stated that they would use force to disperse the Palestinian activists if they did not leave voluntarily.

For their part, the protestors reportedly have decided to resist the evacuation: "We only have our determination, and it will not be easy to expel us from our homes. We will use our experience and skills to remain on the land," Ma'an quoted protest leader Abu Rahma as saying.

Moreover, Channel 10 reported Saturday afternoon that dozens of Palestinians had descended on Bab al-Shams to protest the evacuation, and were attempting to breach the security perimeter.